After a hard-fought battle, CHEN Yu Fei knocks out AN Se Young
On a mission since the start of the tournament, where she hadn’t dropped a single game, AN Se Young was closing in on a second consecutive world title. However, to reach the final, she had to get past her greatest rival : CHEN Yu Fei (no.4, China). Up until now, the two champions were perfectly tied in their head-to-head record, with 13 wins each. The South Korean had appeared to take control in recent months, though, winning four of their last five encounters against the former world no.1.
That streak did not translate into a psychological edge for AN Se Young, who looked unusually shaky in the opening rallies. Facing the sharp play of her Chinese opponent, the current world no.1 trailed at the interval (7/11). From there, CHEN raised the pace and comfortably took the first game (21/15).
With her back against the wall for the first time all week, AN quickly looked to turn things around. Crowned here just a year ago at the Olympic Games, the South Korean pulled ahead early (6/3). Shaken by a bad fall that required medical attention, CHEN hung in well and was only one point behind at the interval (10/11). Digging deep and capinalizing on her opponent’s weaknesses, the Chinese star even managed to move in front in the second game (13/11). Dominant in every area, CHEN Yu Fei held her nerve and stunned the reigning World and Olympic Champion in straight games (21/17).
After the game, AN Se Young reflected on a tough defeat: “I felt that I was in a good condition, but I couldn’t manage to get into the game. I have a bitter sensation coming out of that game. I didn’t think that the game was over when CHEN Yu Fei got injured, I was busy staying focused in my game, but I guess that I was not into it in the end. I also think that I had some troubles with the shadow and the wind in the arena.”
On Sunday, CHEN Yu Fei will face Akane YAMAGUCHI (no.5, Japan) as she looks to claim her first world crown at the age of 27.